The Complaints Board noted the concerns of the Complainants, particularly in regards to the location of the advertisement near a school.

Transcription

1 COMPLAINT NUMBER 16/340 COMPLAINANT ADVERTISER ADVERTISEMENT A. Haslett and Others George Weston Foods Limited Burgen Bread Billboard DATE OF MEETING 25 October 2016 OUTCOME Not Upheld SUMMARY The bus shelter poster advertisement for Burgen bread showed a woman in her pyjamas, with her duvet wrapped around her, eating Burgen toast. Across the top of the poster was the question Are you still a Burgen virgin? This question was referencing a previous Burgen bread advertisement, from 2014, which presented the same scenario but ended with the question Are you a Burgen virgin? The Complainant, A Haslett said I feel this ad is inappropriate and in poor taste to display on a bus stop outside any school Children are being exposed to sex at too early an age from all areas of society Four other complainants shared similar views. The Advertiser said this advertisement was part of a campaign to encourage consumers to try a product they may never have tasted before, hence the reference to Burgen virgin. The Advertiser said the word virgin was not intended to have a literal connection to sexual virginity. The Complaints Board noted the concerns of the Complainants, particularly in regards to the location of the advertisement near a school. The majority of the Complaints Board agreed that the advertisement did not use sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product and was not offensive. The minority of the Complaints Board disagreed and said the advertisement was not prepared with a due sense of social responsibility and did use sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product. However, in accordance with the majority, the Complaints Board ruled to Not Uphold the complaint. [No further action required] Please note this headnote does not form part of the Decision.

2 COMPLAINTS BOARD DECISION The Chair directed the Complaints Board to consider the advertisement with reference to Basic Principle 4 and Rule 5 of the Advertising Code of Ethics and Basic Principles 5 and 6 of the Code for People in Advertising. This required the Complaints Board to consider whether the advertisement had been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society. The Chair also directed the Complaints Board to consider whether the advertisement contained anything which clearly offends against generally prevailing community standards or is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Under the Code for People in Advertising the Complaints Board had to consider whether the advertisement used sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product. The Complaints Board also considered whether the use of humour in the advertisement was likely to cause serious or widespread offence. The Complaints Board ruled to Not Uphold the complaint. The Complaint The Complaints Board noted the concerns of the five Complainants, that the placement of this advertisement near schools and the reference to sex and virginity to sell bread was inappropriate. The Advertiser s Response The Complaints Board noted the comments made by the Advertiser. The Advertiser said this advertisement was part of a campaign to encourage consumers to try a product they may never have tasted before, hence the reference to Burgen virgin. The Advertiser said the word virgin was not intended to have a literal connection to sexual virginity but refers to someone who has not previously tried something, for example political virgin. The Advertiser said the campaign is no longer running and they have advised their media agencies that in future all consideration should be paid when placing advertisements in the context of an audience which is not their target market (under 18 years of age). The Advertiser said their media agency did receive a complaint from a school and the offending placement was removed the same day. Precedents To assist in coming to its decision the Complaints Board reviewed two possible precedent decisions, all related to the George Weston Foods (NZ) Ltd Are you a Burgen virgin? or Are you still a Burgen virgin? advertisements for Burgen Bread. The first precedent considered was the television advertisement which was part of the same 2016 Are you still a Burgen virgin? campaign (complaint 14/342) which was ruled No Grounds to Proceed. The Chair of the Complaints Board ruled the advertisement did not reach the threshold to breach the Advertising Codes and did not objectify the woman or portray her in a manner that used sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product. 2

3 The second precedent considered was the television advertisement for the previous 2014 campaign Are you a Burgen virgin? (Complaint 14/064) which was Not Upheld. In its decision on Complaint 14/064 the Complaints Board said the likely consumer takeout of the word virgin in this context would be promoting Burgen bread to people who had yet to try the bread. The Complaints Board Discussion Having considered all the information provided, the Complaints Board turned to consider whether the Are you still a Burgen virgin? bus shelter poster advertisement had been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society. As part of the discussion, the Complaints Board considered the placement of the advertisement, the relationship between the product and the imagery and generally prevailing community standards. Does the poster contain anything which clearly offends against prevailing community standards or is likely to cause serious or widespread offence? The Complaints Board discussed whether the advertisement contained anything which clearly offends against generally prevailing community standards, taking into account the context, medium, audience and product. The majority of the Complaints Board agreed the advertisement did not reach the threshold to have objectified the woman or portrayed her in a manner that used sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product. When considering the Complainant s assertion that the advertisement used women s sexuality to sell an unrelated product, the majority of the Complaints Board did not consider the woman sitting in her pyjamas in bed was sexual in any way, nor was it exploitative. They noted that eating toast in bed was an everyday activity. The majority of the Complaints Board agreed the advertisement did not contain anything which was likely to cause serious or widespread offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards. As such the advertisement had been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and society and there was no apparent breach of the Advertising Codes. A minority of the Complaints Board disagreed. The minority said in the context of the bus shelter poster, near where children were present, the reference to virginity, and by implication sexuality, was a breach of the Code. In particular the reference to the young woman being still a virgin was pejorative and therefore offensive. A minority of the Complaints Board said that the fact that the woman was in her pyjamas, in bed with her duvet wrapped around her, combined with the words used, made the reference to virgin overtly sexual and inappropriate for a bread advertisement. Was the poster prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and society? The majority of the Complaints Board agreed the poster was prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and society. A minority of the Complaints Board was of the view the poster was not prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and society, as it offended against generally prevailing community standards of decency. 3

4 In accordance with the majority, the Complaints Board ruled to Not Uphold the complaint under Basic Principle 4, Rules 4 and 5 of the Code of Ethics and Basic Principle 5 of the Code for People in Advertising. Decision: Complaint Not Upheld DESCRIPTION OF ADVERTISEMENT The bus shelter poster advertisement for Burgen bread showed a woman in her pyjamas, with her duvet wrapped around her, eating Burgen toast. Across the top of the poster was the question Are you still a Burgen virgin? COMPLAINT FROM A. HASLETT This ad shows a young woman wrapped in a sheet, with 'bed hair' which I guess is meant to imply she has or is about to lose her 'Burgen' virginity. Without the double entendre slogan it's an ad showing a woman eating toast in bed. I feel this ad is inappropriate and in poor taste to display on a bus stop outside any school. But especially outside an intermediate where attending children are below the legal age of consent. Children are being exposed to sex at too early an age from all areas of society through the influence of online media, music videos, and through advertising channels. By asking 'are you still a Burgen virgin' to me the ad implies that being a virgin is an unacceptable or unwelcome state. This may just be my impression, but who knows what connotations this statement has on a 12 year old boy or girl? I can imagine the types of questions this ad could bring up between parents and young children, and wonder how a parent would be able to convey the message behind this ad is to buy bread, without discussing the meaning of the word virgin. I'm sure Auckland Council would not have knowingly chosen to place this ad outside a school. COMPLAINT FROM R. CRAWFORD I noticed the offending words on bus shelter posters near my home. One in great South Road (near the corner of Otahuri Crescent) the other one in St John's Road Meadowbank. They are ads for Burgen Bread and the 'offending' words... "ARE YOU A BURGEN VIRGIN". I do not think the wording is appropriate on bus shelters that might be viewed by young children. COMPLAINT FROM C. LORIGAN This ad has previously been criticised for sexualising women to sell bread, but I think it goes further than this: the imagery used of a young woman waking up in the morning coupled with the copy: 'Are you still a Burgen virgin' could be suggestive of, or perhaps draws from and is conflated with, a situation in which a girl wakes up wondering if she is still a virgin. To me, this suggests she might have gone home with a man and had sex without knowing, without being able to remember it. Rape culture, perhaps? This is ill-advised at best given some of the contemporary and historical social issues we have in this country. 4

5 COMPLAINT FROM R. PURDY I am very disappointed with the Burgen Virgin Campaign. There is no need to use women or the use of the word virgin to sell bread. This is the definition of the word virgin. a person who has never had sexual intercourse. "she's still a virgin" synonyms: maiden, unmarried girl, maid, vestal virgin, chaste woman, celibate; More Do our children really need to see a woman in bed talking about 'virgin experience' then eating bread? How is this not breaching the advertising standards act? COMPLAINT FROM A. ROWE This advertisement completely inappropriately links sex to wholegrain bread, of all things! Sex should not be used to sell unrelated products, and quite clearly, wholegrain bread has no relation to sex. The use of the sexual term 'virgin' in the text linked with the model's bed hair, smeared dark eye make up, and posing in bed are unnecessarily provocative and sexually suggestive. What's more, this advertisement was placed on a bus stop outside a boy's secondary school. CODE OF ETHICS Basic Principle 4: All advertisements should be prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society. Rule 5: Offensiveness - Advertisements should not contain anything which in the light of generally prevailing community standards is likely to cause serious or widespread offence taking into account the context, medium, audience and product (including services). CODE FOR PEOPLE IN ADVERTISING Basic Principle 5 - Advertisements should not employ sexual appeal in a manner which is exploitative and degrading of any individual or group of people in society to promote the sale of products or services. In particular people should not be portrayed in a manner which uses sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product. Children must not be portrayed in a manner which treats them as objects of sexual appeal. Basic Principle 6 - Humour and satire are natural and accepted features of the relationship between individuals and groups within the community. Humorous and satirical treatment of people and groups of people is acceptable, provided that, taking into account generally prevailing community standards, the portrayal is not likely to cause serious or widespread offence, hostility, contempt, abuse or ridicule. RESPONSE FROM ADVERTISER, GEORGE WESTON FOODS LIMITED We acknowledge receipt of Complaint 16/340 in relation to our recent Burgin Virgin campaign. As you identified in your letter dated 26 September 2016, this Complaint refers to the following sections of the Advertising Codes of Practice: 5

6 a. Code of Ethics Basic Principle 4; all advertisements should be prepared with a due sense of social responsibility to consumers and to society b. Code of Ethics - Rule 5; advertisements should not contain anything which clearly offends against generally prevailing community standards taking into account the context, medium, audience and product c. Code for People in Advertising Basic Principle 5; advertisements should not employ sexual appeal in a manner which is exploitative and degrading of any individual or group of people in society to promote the sale of products or services. In particular people should not be portrayed in a manner which uses sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product d. Code for People in Advertising Basic Principle 6; humour and satire are natural and accepted features of the relationship between individuals and groups within the community. Humour and satirical treatment of people and groups is acceptable, provided that, taking into account generally or prevailing community standards, the portrayal is not likely to cause serious or widespread offence, hostility, contempt, abuse or ridicule. George Weston Foods (NZ) Ltd submits that its Burgin Virgin campaign did not breach the Advertising Codes of Practice. Background The advertising identified by Complaint 16/340 was one part of a campaign which also included three versions of a TV commercial run on both TV and online - and supported a social campaign. The intention of the campaign was to encourage consumers to trial Burgen bread. The Adshel poster in question was one of three created for the campaign. Each individual commercial was created to depict a popular bread eating occasion; breakfast in bed, a sandwich for lunch and a midnight snack. The commercials featured a range of different ages and personality types; a woman in her late 20s, a male years and a woman 50+. The talent was specifically selected to represent a cross section of Burgen s target audience, all of whom may not have eaten Burgen bread before. The out of home component of the campaign ran for two weeks from 4 September 2016 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and targeted adshel locations near supermarkets. All adshel material was removed from these locations by 18 September The adshel advertisement The adshel advertisement complained about was created to reflect the breakfast in bed scenario. The advertisement shows one woman, in her late 20s, in bed alone and dressed in ordinary nightwear eating fruit toast with butter. The woman is confident, looking straight to camera. Above the image of the woman is the endline Are you still a Burgen virgin? The intention of the ad was to encourage consumers to trial a bread they may not have eaten before. Elements of the complaint 6

7 There appear to be three key elements to the complaints: a. The use of a woman in an advertisement for bread b. The use of the word virgin in association with the image of the woman c. The placement of the adshel advertisement. We address these elements separately below. 1. The use of a woman in an advertisement for bread In the context of this campaign, the woman is portrayed as an everyday person sitting up in bed, enjoying a slice of fruit toast in bed. The woman s hair is tousled in the way that any person s hair would be tousled after sleep. She is wearing modest pyjamas, and only her shoulders are exposed. There is nothing suggestive about the way she is sitting. There is no other visual cue to suggest anything else happening in the bedroom environment, or even that any other person is in the bedroom with the woman. The advert does not objectify the woman. It neither depicts sexual activity nor is suggestive of sexual activity in any way. The woman is within Bürgen bread s target demographic, and the commercial is part of a suite of commercials that also features images of men. Our response: The adshel is consistent with Code of Ethics, Basic Principle 4. There is nothing socially irresponsible about portraying a woman eating toast in bed. The adshel is consistent with Code of Ethics, Rule 5. While the complainants have taken offence at the image of a woman eating toast in bed, we do not accept that the image is likely to cause serious or widespread offence taking into account the context that this adshel is showing a breakfast in bed scenario. The adshel is consistent with Code for People in Advertising, Principle 5. There is nothing exploitative or degrading in this image. The woman is portrayed as confident and self-assured. The adshel is consistent with Code for People in Advertising, Principle 6. The image does not make fun of the woman or seek to make fun of her. 2. The use of the word virgin In the context of this adshel, where the campaign is about trying to encourage new consumers to trial Burgen bread, the word virgin means a person who is naïve, innocent, or inexperienced in a particular context. 1 The word virgin is commonly used in this way, for example, someone can be described as a political virgin. A number of the complainants refer specifically to this word being sexual or a double entendre and one complainant states that the text linked with the model s bed hair, smeared dark eye makeup and posing in bed are unnecessarily provocative and sexually suggestive. Our response: The question posed by the text in the adshel is essentially, have you tried this bread yet?. It is aimed, as part of a wider campaign, to encourage consumers to try a product they may 7

8 never have tasted before. It is not uncommon to use the word virgin to explain that someone has not previously experienced something. As noted above, the woman s hair is tousled because in the context of breakfast in bed it would be unrealistic for her hair to be smoothly groomed. We do not accept her make up is smeared. The woman is fresh faced and wears natural make-up in the style of any woman in her late 20s. She is not posed in bed. She is sitting cross-legged, wrapped in a blanket. There is nothing provocative or sexually suggestive about the way the woman is sitting, or in what she is wearing. The use of the word virgin was not intended to have a literal connection to sexual virginity. Certainly, there was no intent by George Weston Foods (NZ) Ltd to cause offence. The adshel is consistent with Code of Ethics, Basic Principle 4. There is nothing socially irresponsible about using the word virgin is association with a question about trying something new. The adshel is consistent with Code of Ethics, Rule 5. While the complainants have taken offence at the use of the word virgin in connection with the image of the woman sitting up in bed eating toast, we do not accept that this is likely to cause serious or widespread offence taking into account the context of this campaign. The adshel is consistent with Code for People in Advertising, Principle 5. There is nothing exploitative or degrading in the use of the word virgin. The adshel is consistent with Code for People in Advertising, Principle 6. The intent is humorous. It is not likely to cause serious or widespread offence, hostility, contempt, abuse or ridicule. 3. Placement of the adshel The adshels were placed in proximity to supermarkets. We accept that in the examples cited by the complainants the adshels were also close to schools. Our response: As the campaign is no longer running and all executions have been removed, communications have been made to all GWF media agencies and related third party suppliers that all consideration should be paid when placing any further advertisements in the context of an audience that is not considered our target market (under 18 years of age). George Weston as a responsible advertiser This is the second time this Burgen Virgin campaign has run in this instance it ran for one month only and the campaign has recently ended. The out of home component of the campaign ran for only the first two weeks of that campaign. During the out of home campaign period, Carat (the GWF Media Agency) did receive one complaint from a school, and the offending placement was immediately removed the same day. The Principal of the school concerned was very appreciative that we responded so quickly. This, we hope, demonstrates that we are a responsible advertiser. However, as regards Complaint 16/340, while we accept the complainants took offence, we do not accept that the adshel cited breached the code of practice. 8

9 If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. 1 Oxford English Dictionary online edition 9